UP FOR LOVE/ Un homme à la hauteur
World Premiere • Romantic Comedy • France, 2016
DCP • 1.85 • Dolby 5.1 • Color • 98 min
Directed by: Laurent Tirard
Written by: Grégoire Vigneron, Laurent Tirard
Music composed by: Eric Neveu
Cinematography: Jérôme Alméras
Film Editing: Valérie Deseine
Produced by: Vanessa Van Zuelen, Camille Bonvallet (VVZ Productions), Sidonie Dumas (Gaumont)
Cast: Jean Dujardin (Alexandre), Virginie Efira (Dianne), Cédric Kahn (Bruno)
International Sales: Gaumont • gaumont.fr
Every now and then COLCOA audiences get to see a film even before the French. Scheduled for a May 4th release in France, Up With Love is a high concept romantic comedy from the writer/director of Astérix and Obélix: God Save Britannia. Belgian rom-com veteran Virginie Efira stars as Dianne, a successful lawyer who’s been unlucky in love. She gets an unexpected phone call from a stranger who’s found her cell phone and wants to return it. The stranger, Alexandre, is funny and charming, and as the conversation goes on, the two seem to hit it off. They agree to a date of sorts – to meet and return the lost phone. Dianne arrives at the appointed time with growing expectations, only to be let down, literally, when Alexandre turns out to be so short, he has to jump up to sit in the café chair. Dianne is tempted to walk away on the spot. Problem is, apart from his diminutive stature, Alexandre is the total package. As the pair rises to meet the romantic challenges, not to mention the prejudices of society, Dianne will be forced to decide if Alexandre is man enough for her. Jean Dujardin displays impeccable comic timing as a vertically-challenged Romeo.
Coming off a string of box office successes adapting popular French children’s books Le petit Nicolas: Little Nicholas (2009) and its sequel Nicholas on Holiday (2014), as well as Astérix and Obélix: God Save Britannia (2012), writer/director Laurent Tirard now turns his attention to effects-driven comedy. Tirard took up the challenge of creating a visually convincing four-foot version of Jean Dujardin, without stepping on the chemistry of his romantic leads. To adapt his story from the Argentine hit Corazόn de Leόn (2013) by director Marcos Carnevale, Tirard worked with his long time writing collaborator Grégoire Vigneron. Tirard began as a journalist and critic for the magazine Studio. His book, Moviemakers' Master Class: Private Lessons from the World's Foremost Directors, features interviews with Woody Allen, David Cronenberg, the Coen brothers, and Lars Von Trier, among others. Tirard’s debut feature, The Story of My Life, won the COLCOA Audience Award in 2005. He went on to gain international attention for his historical comedy Molière (2007).
